Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to antennas, and more particularly, to an antenna using a liquid metal employed in an electronic device.
Description of the Related Art
Due to recent advances in computing and telecommunications, portable electronic devices (commonly called mobile or portable terminals) such as smartphones are widely used. A portable device may provide various communication functions such as a mobile communication function, global positioning system (GPS) receiving function, Bluetooth communication function, Wi-Fi communication function, WiBro communication function, and digital broadcasting (e.g., mobile broadcasting such as digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) or digital video broadcasting (DVB)) receiving function. One or more antennas are included within the device to transmit/receive signals for the various wireless communication functions.
A conventional antenna is formed to have a specific conductor pattern using a metal conductor. The conventional antenna is fixed and installed at a specific position of the mobile terminal, so that a form and position of the antenna cannot be changed. Thereby, a problem of antenna performance degradation may occur, particularly in portable devices, in certain use environments. For example, when a user's hand or other body part is proximate the antenna location of the portable device, antenna performance may deteriorate. Further, it is difficult to apply a conventional antenna to a flexible mobile terminal. This is because a fixed form metal antenna used in a flexible mobile terminal may develop a crack. Moreover, in states in which a flexible mobile terminal is folded and unfolded, antenna performance can change below requirements.
Accordingly, there is a need for an antenna that can maintain requisite performance despite influence of a human body, and which is suitable for use in a flexible mobile terminal.